PETA’s concern is for all creatures, not matter what body they are in

Published: Wednesday, April 3, 2013 10:03 a.m. CST

By: Ingrid E. Newkirk - President, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Dear Editor:

I write only because in our rushed society, Tom Purcell’s humorous piece about beavers in Washington’s Tidal Basin might be thought to be factual when it was tongue-in-cheek (“Springtime in Washington, D.C.” March 27).

One thing is true, however: For many years now, PETA has been successful in persuading those bothered by beavers’ dams to install devices that allow the water to flow through the dam, while not interfering with the clever home made by “nature’s engineers,” the beavers.

Not true, however, is that PETA would have approved of violent methods to solve the problem if the animals had been rats. Our “pest” control division helps businesses and individuals find humane solutions (box traps over glue traps, for instance) for rodents and even insects.

In our book, it matters not what types of bodies living beings come packaged in; what matters is their ability to feel pain, their right to consideration of their interests, and our ability to be kind to all.